The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to sell off Nigeria’s collective wealth by allegedly planning to privatise the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
At a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party fully aligns with oil unions in rejecting the proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and alleged moves to sell NNPCL’s equity in high-performing joint ventures to cronies and proxies.
“We are convinced that this action forms part of a deliberate and calculated effort to hollow out NNPCL, dismantle institutional checks and balances, and pave the way for the fire-sale of Nigeria’s most valuable national assets to private, politically-connected interests at the expense of 200 million Nigerians. They represent not reform, but regression — and they must be rejected,” Abdullahi said.
The party argued that such a move would undermine Nigeria’s energy sovereignty, weaken its ability to stabilise fuel supply, and surrender the lifeblood of the economy to profit-driven private entities.
“If we sell off our oil assets, we are not just parting with numbers on a balance sheet — we are surrendering the lifeblood of our economy and the backbone of our national sovereignty,” Abdullahi warned.
ADC criticised the Tinubu administration for what it described as “failures across all fronts,” noting worsening insecurity, spiraling inflation, and deepening poverty.
It said that rather than delivering “renewed hope” as promised during campaigns, the government had unleashed hardship on ordinary Nigerians.
“Insecurity remains perhaps the most damning indictment of APC’s misgovernance. Boko Haram and ISWAP still hold footholds in the North, banditry and kidnappings terrorise the Northwest, and the North Central continues to buckle under attacks,” Abdullahi said.
The party also lamented what it called institutional decay, an unreliable power sector despite huge allocations, a struggling healthcare system, and record youth unemployment.
Referencing a joint letter by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to President Tinubu rejecting the planned amendments, the ADC called on civil society, labour unions, and citizens to resist what it termed the “plunder” of Nigeria’s resources.
“At 65, Nigeria must not stand for power, profit, or politics. Nigeria must stand for the people,” Abdullahi declared.
The ADC reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigeria’s commonwealth, resisting corruption, and defending the economic rights of future generations.
